Page 91 of Second Chance with the Single Dad Goalie
“Seriously, stop hovering outside the door,” her voice cuts through the silence. “Just come in already.”
I freeze.
Busted.
With a sigh, I push the door open and step inside. She’s sitting on the edge of the bed, legs crossed, scrolling through her phone.
I shut the door behind me and lean against it, crossing my arms. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“You gonna keep avoiding me all night?”
She scoffs but doesn’t look up. “I’m not avoiding you.”
“Really?” I arch a brow. “’Because it sure as hell feels like you are.”
She sighs, still scrolling. “What do you want, Blake?”
“I want to talk about what happened at the restaurant.”
That gets her attention. Her fingers pause over the screen, and for a brief moment, I think she might look at me. But instead, she shakes her head and tosses her phone onto the bed beside her. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“There is,” I counter, taking a few slow steps toward her.
Whitney exhales sharply, tilting her head up toward the ceiling like she’s praying for patience. “Blake, it was just James being James. He runs his mouth off, says ridiculous things, and then moves on. It doesn’t mean anything.”
I huff a laugh. “That’s not what your face said.”
Her jaw tightens. “Oh, so now you’re an expert on my expressions?”
“Maybe,” I say, shrugging. “I did know you pretty well once.”
Her lips press into a thin line. “Did,” she echoes. “Past tense”
That stings more than it should.
She shakes her head, shifting on the bed to face me fully.
“Look,” I say, standing in front of her. “I get it. It caught you off guard. It caughtmeoff guard too. But Keith didn’t think anything of it, and neither did anyone else.”
“Are you sure about that?” She asks, crossing her arms. “Because Keith seemed pretty convinced we were - what was it? ‘Awfully close’…”
I roll my eyes. “He was joking, Whit.”
“Was he?”
“You’re overthinking this. And even if Keith did suspect something, so what? I challenge myself, stepping closer. “What’s the worst that could happen, Whit?”
Her eyes narrow. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe myoverprotectivebrother finds out about us? About the past? About the fact that I once made the mistake of falling for you?”
I exhale through my nose, clenching my jaw. “It wasn’t a mistake.”
She crosses her arms. “Wasn’t it?”
A beat of silence stretches between us.
She shakes her head, exasperated. “Blake, we aren’t - it doesn’t matter.”
